Nanotechnology has been making some unprecedented breakthroughs in healthcare, and especially in nanodentistry. Next-generation dental materials will help your teeth self-heal, rebuild your enamel, and protect your teeth from bacterial infections.

“Recent developments in nanomaterials and nanotechnology have improved and will further advance dentistry and oral health care in the near future,” wrote the team of Brazilian and Spanish researchers. “Nevertheless, great challenges involving ethics and safety regulations, as well as cost-effectiveness, need to be addressed and overcome before new nano-based dental materials are introduced in the market.”

“According to the National Nanotechnology Initiative, any material with components less than 100 nanometers in at least one dimensions is considered a nanomaterial. (If a nanometer is one-billionth of a meter, then a single strand of human hair ranges between 80,000 and 100,000 nanometers wide.) The reason nanomaterials are so alluring is their properties are different from non-nano-materials in two crucial ways. First, due to their small size, nanomaterials have greater surface area per unit mass compared to bigger particles. Second, all quantum effects (including energy, electrical, optical, and magnetic) become more dominant at the nanoscale. Any material, then, will possess unusual properties at the nanoscale whether it be gas, liquid, or solid.” – Medical Daily

Nanodentistry is a relatively recent phenomenon, with engineers introducing the first nano-composite resin about a decade ago.

Because these composites have been so successful, engineers continue to explore new ways nanotechnologies might be used in the dentist’s office. Nanomaterials may soon provide “mechanical reinforcement, improve aesthetic aspects, and induce antimicrobial and therapeutic effects,” the authors explain. Remineralization of enamel via nanoparticles is already being explored and going forward, the authors suggest antimicrobial adhesives will act as wearable toothpaste while quantum dots combined with cancer-specific antibodies may be applied to the mouth to emit light when detecting cancerous cells. More generally, nanoparticles introduced into common dental materials could prevent or control oral diseases.

“Exciting technological advances may bring to fruition new restorative dental materials with unsurpassed durability and aesthetic properties,” concluded the authors. Soon, it seems, we may be sharing perfect smiles well into old age.